STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8146
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 15, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SCARCELLA-SPANTON -- read twice and ordered printed,
and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Home-
land Security and Military Affairs
AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to directing the
department of veterans' services to conduct a study about veterans'
employment review
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The veterans' services law is amended by adding a new
2 section 29-e to read as follows:
3 § 29-e. Veterans' employment review. 1. Legislative intent. It is only
4 proper that those in government help the heroes who volunteered to serve
5 in the military make a successful transition to civilian life and
6 employment.
7 Leaving military service for civilian employment can be challenging
8 for many veterans who may have difficulty translating military quali-
9 fications, skills, and experiences when applying to civilian jobs. Yet,
10 veterans have a diverse pool of skill sets that make them invaluable
11 assets in a wide variety of fields across the public and private sectors
12 and possess a wealth of experience that would be helpful in any employ-
13 ment situation, whether as a team member or in a leadership role.
14 The legislature is aware that the current federal government has been
15 reducing the federal workforce with a disproportionate impact on veter-
16 ans. It is therefore, important that the state of New York increase its
17 efforts to help those veterans who have recently been displaced from
18 their careers in the federal government and help them find a path to
19 employment and success in the state of New York.
20 2. Study established. The department, in consultation with the depart-
21 ments of civil service and labor, the governor's office of employee
22 relations, at least two representatives of labor organizations as
23 defined in section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law, and the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13112-01-5
S. 8146 2
1 president of the New York state county veterans' service officers asso-
2 ciation, is hereby authorized and directed to conduct a study regarding
3 veterans' employment opportunities and incentives. Such study shall be
4 completed and a report submitted to the governor, the temporary presi-
5 dent of the senate, and the speaker of the assembly on or before Decem-
6 ber thirty-first, two thousand twenty-seven.
7 3. Study requirements. The veterans' employment review shall compre-
8 hensively study efforts that can be made to improve and increase veteran
9 employment opportunities in the state including but not limited to:
10 (a) reviewing the current system of awarding civil service credit
11 pursuant to law, including the requirements of section six of article
12 five of the state constitution;
13 (b) analyzing the benefits of awarding civil service credit to veter-
14 ans based on a variety of different factors including, but not limited
15 to, military occupational specialty, combat experience, or the award of
16 certain decorations, medals, badges, citations and campaign ribbons;
17 (c) reviewing the adequacy of employment protections for veterans in
18 current law;
19 (d) reviewing methods, including the awarding of additional civil
20 service credits, that can be implemented by employers to more easily
21 facilitate the recruitment and onboarding of veteran employees who are
22 former employees of the federal government and who were dismissed from
23 federal employment on or after January twentieth, two thousand twenty-
24 five, including but not limited to those under Executive Order 14210, 90
25 Federal Registry 9669 (February 11, 2025); and
26 (e) providing recommendations on additional incentives that employers
27 can use to recruit and retain veteran employees.
28 4. Definition. The term "employer" shall have the same meaning as
29 defined in section two hundred ninety-two of the executive law.
30 § 2. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
31 have become a law.
